iPad the VIII
The $329 8th generation iPad, the Budget iPad, the 10.2” iPad, the new-old iPad.
The new 10.2" iPad is an update to the 7th generation iPad introduced last year and is geared towards the budget-minded or education-based clientele. This iPad retains the same cameras, same gen. 1 Apple Pencil support, and the same TouchID, Wifi, & Bluetooth standards of the 2017 & 2018 iPads. It also keeps the same Smart Connector, allowing you to connect the origami-style Smart Keyboard to the iPad - a feature introduced into this tier last year. The only two notable changes are packaging the iPad with a USB-C power adapter and a significant upgrade to the processor, from the A10 to the A12 Bionic.
It continues to impress me that an iPad can now be purchased for 329$ or less - these things are always going on sale. What's more, the accessories Apple first introduced through their Pro lineup of iPads (the $99 Apple Pencil & $159 Smart Keyboard) are available to the entry-level market, though notably costing nearly as much as the base configuration iPad itself!
While pushing some technologies into its entry-level iPad, Apple continues to make several budget-minded decisions to keep the price accessible. These include:
The absence of an sRBG or P3 colour,
A non-laminated display (resulting in a slightly thicker iPad & small air gap),
An older A12 processor that was first released with the iPhone XS/XR two years ago, and
A low-resolution 1.2MP front-facing camera for FaceTime.
In real-world usage, these limitations will either not be noticeable to the vast majority of consumers purchasing these iPads or be outweighed by the price, the features of iPadOS, and the iPad's overall versatility.
Last year I had some reservations about the A10 processor (already three years old at the time it was introduced), but the update to the A12 brings a tremendous performance boost to the budget iPad. While both the A10 & A12 both remain perfectly suitable chips to run typical use cases (i.e., typing, browsing, watching videos, gaming, and multitasking), the A12 helps elevate this iPad to be used for more intensive gaming and photo & video editing sessions without experiencing significant slowdowns or performance hits. The extra GB of RAM (3GB total; an increase from 2GB from 2018), and the optimizations iPadOS makes, help make this iPad feel both fast and fluid.
While I would love the 10.2" iPad to move to an all-screen display, I realize this is not Apple's, nor a financially sensible strategy. New & expensive innovations go to the top tier line (iPad Pro), trickle to the mid-tier bracket (iPad Air) after a year, and eventually make their way to the iPad. We've seen this with the processors, the Apple Pencil, the Smart Connector, and, most recently, with the full-screen display & body-redesign coming to the new iPad Air.
I believe Apple's update of the A12, even though this is Apple recycling older parts, provides a lot more ceiling for the iPad to age gracefully over time compared with the A10 in the 2019 iPad. I can easily see this tablet comfortably lasting 2-3 years for most users, and as long as five years for those who stretch every last pixel and MHz to their absolute limit.
My Recommendation
If you have the means, consider upgrading to the $429 model with 128GB of storage, even if that means opting out of buying a Smart Keyboard and using a cheaper/bluetooth keyboard. You can always upgrade the keyboard later, but you’re locked into the storage option you choose at purchase.
